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Snyder's budget by the numbers

Gov. Rick Snyder's election year state budget proposes more money for education and job creation as well as tax relief.

"The comeback continues for Michigan," Snyder said. "Michigan is back on track. … Let's finish the job we started."

But in several cases, the increases Snyder touted would not bring the state's level of spending or tax relief to the levels to which he cut them in 2011, his first year in office.

In the higher education budget, Snyder is proposing a 6.1 percent increase for universities, amounting to an additional $80.3 million. Despite the proposed increase in funding, universities will still be receiving less than they did at start of Snyder's term. In 2011, Snyder cut the higher education funding 15 percent and in the following two years increased it by 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

According to Snyder's presentation, funding for university operations on a per student basis was $5,362 in 2011. That then shrunk to $4,557 and would increase to $5,088 in the budget he proposed today.

In a statement, Michael Boulus, executive director of the Lansing-based Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, called Snyder's proposal a "substantial increase."

"The states with the most college graduates are those leading the way in prosperity, and in Michigan the best way to increase college attainment is to invest in our institutions creating those graduates," Boulus said. "We view the governor's recommendation as a significant and strategic reinvestment in Michigan's public universities."

The governor's higher education budget again comes with a caveat – the state's 15 public universities have to hold tuition increases to no more than 3.2 percent to qualify for the additional state funds.

Last year, Wayne State University forfeited $534,700 in state aid by increasing its tuition more than 3.75 percent, which was that year's tuition cap. Instead, its 8.9 percent increase brought in an estimated $14 million.

In 2011, the governor and the Republican-led Legislature reduced the number of those eligible to receive that exemption, causing about 400,000 to no longer qualify.

This proposal would allow about 250,000 to again qualify. In total, the administration expects 1.3 million taxpayers would see increased tax refunds by increasing the credit's income percentage to 3.5 percent, from 3 percent.

The changes in the exemption would allow those with incomes up to $60,000 to qualify, up from the $50,000 level now. Before the tax changes of 2011, those with incomes of $82,650 could qualify.

Transportation

The governor is not seeking again the more than $1 billion annually in new revenue to repair the state's roads and bridges, instead recommending $254 million, of which about half would enable the state to meet the federal match.

Michigan Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle said after Wednesday's presentation that about $100 million of the state's contribution would go toward maintenance of the state's roads and bridges, which he had requested.

"While we thank the governor for his continued focus on making infrastructure a priority, we need to remind the Legislature that this one-time solution falls short of the overall annual need to maintain our transportation system, which is estimated at $2 billion per year," said Michael Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association.

Jobs

Snyder also proposed spending an additional $15 million on community revitalization and business attraction efforts, as well as $5 million to go toward the Automotive, Engineering and Manufacturing Technology Fund, aimed at growing that industry.

He recommended $100 million in bond funds for universities that have accredited engineering programs to compete for capital improvements with the goal of increasing the number of engineers educated in the state. Another $50 million in bonding would go toward community colleges, which could compete for funds to retool equipment that educates students in high-skill and high-demand occupations.

Rainy day fund

Snyder proposed adding an additional $120 million to the state's rainy day fund, which would bring its total to $700 million.

When Snyder took office in 2011, the state's rainy day fund was $2.2 million.

Snyder also wants to put $122 million in savings from the enactment of Medicaid expansion into a separate fund that would go toward paying the state's share of the expansion once the federal government no longer covers 100 percent of the cost.

Reaction

Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, applauded the budget for focusing on areas Democrats have always championed, but said the attention to education and other areas came too late after years of cuts.

"I shouldn't be surprised that the governor would choose to act like a corporate accountant and shuffle numbers around to claim he's making investments in our schools and families when we know that simply isn't the case," Whitmer said. "Regardless of whether or not he wants to make education a focal point of his campaign, it still is not a priority in his budgets, which tells the real story of what he values."

Doug Rothwell, president and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan, praised Snyder for increasing higher education funding in this year's budget and the previous two budgets, and encouraged further action on transportation funding.

"We applaud the governor for proposing this strategic reinvestment in our higher education institutions. While we understand the difficulty in reaching a legislative consensus on road funding and support the governor's request for additional one-time repair monies, it does not replace the need for additional long-term funding," Rothwell said. "We also support continued investments to the Budget Stabilization Fund and other efforts that encourage regions in our state to work together to deliver services efficiently and effectively."

Other budget highlights

$2.5 million to develop a trail system from Belle Isle to Wisconsin border in the Upper Peninsula, with the goal of making Michigan the "trail state."

A $15.7 million expansion of Healthy Kids dental to Macomb and Kalamazoo counties, adding 100,000 children to the program.

$15.6 million to implement some of the recommendations of the Mental Health Commission report issued last month.

An additional $2 million for the Pure Michigan marketing campaign, bringing its total budget to $31 million in this proposed budget.

Chris Gautz: (517) 403-4403, cgautz@crain.com. Twitter: @chrisgautz

Correction: An earlier version of this report included an incorrect total budget figure in the headline.